Knitted headwear



N E T s N E H. L

KNITTED HEADWEAR Filed June 14, 19.54

INVENTOR.

l. 011/6 h', Ms 75N 12', TORNEY.

Patented May 5, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to knitted headwear and has for its object theprovision of a new and improved helmet capable of being knitted on aflat machine, cut with a minimum oi waste material, sewed with a minimumof seams, and clinging tightly and pleasantly to the head and neck inform-fitting relation; the provision of a atknitted helmet which shall tthe head at all times, while substantially free from overlapping ormultiple-ply portions; the provision of asimple knitted article ofheadwear which covers the head, neck and lower portion of the face ofthe user, leaving the eyes and nose exposed and being of a shapeconforming closely to the contour of the parts of the wearer which itcovers; while further objects and advantages oi the invention will bepointed and become apparent as the` description proceeds. n

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective View of the helmetas-itappears in use and Figure 2 is a side view of the helmet as itappears when the neck-piece or muiller portion is unbuttoned.

The skull covering portion or crown of the helmet disclosed herein isformed in much the same manner as illustrated and described in my U. S.Patent No. 1,313,080 for Knitted cap and some use is also made of theimprovements in Knitted headwear disclosed in my U. S. Patent No.1,842,- 513. The present invention distinguishes from the head coveringsof my patents referred to primarily in that it is designed to cover theneck and lower part of the face in addition to head parts of the wearercovered by the device shown in my later patent and it affords the wearera maximum degree of protection with the addition of a minimum amount ofmaterial.

The crown or skull covering portion l of the helmet is formed from aswatch of material cut from a continuous rack-knitted stripwhich isknitted in zig-zag fashion so that the rows` of knitting in successiveareas of the strip are diagonally related to each other with the selvageat each side running parallel to the rows and forming angular orserrated margins of complementary outline at each side. The swatchreferred to is illustrated in Figure 2 in my U. S. Patent No. 1,313,080.The lower portion 2 of the helmet which constitutes the neck-piece andface-cover portion is cut to length and shape from a at continuousstraight-knitted strip in which the rows of knitting are straight andparallel.

After the swatch has been cut from this strip, the selvage at one sideis sewed together to form seams 3 and 4, there being complementary seams(not shown) similar to the seams 3 and 4 appearing in Figure 2, on theopposite side of the cap. The ends of the swatch are sewed together toform a seam 5 at the rear part of the helmet,

a small triangular piece having rst been cut oi 5 from the correspondinglower corners at the end of the swatch in order that the lowermostportion 6 of the rear seam conform more closely to the contour of thehead of the wearer and also to cause the marginal edges of the crownportion l0 of the helmet to be placed under' tension, so that they willvt tightly and snugly and conform to the shape of the head, all as shownand described in my Patent No. 1,313,080 referred to earlier herein.'Ihe sewed seams of the helmet are indi- 15 cated by relatively heavylines in the gures of the drawing.

The neck-piece Zis secured at 8 tothe finished selvage atthe lowermostedge of the crown of the' helmet` and the front-part ofthe.' part 21-i`s20 of somewhat greater width than the rear portion thereof, so that itcan be utilized to cover the lower part of the face of the wearer. Thispart of the muiller is secured at I0 to the finished sewage at theforward side of the hamet. A 25 short piece of lining l2 of knitted orwoven material is secured at the inner side of the free end of theneck-piece 2 and at this point a number of spaced button-holes I3 areprovided for cooperation with correspondingly spaced buttons I 4 30secured adjacent to one edge of the helmet and beneath some of which ashort piece of lining I6 may also be secured.

Darts I1 are made in the lower portion of the front part of theneck-piece shortening the length 35 of the lower edge thereof so thatthe neck-piece follows the contour of the jaw and neck of the wearer,thus providing a snug i'lt for this portion of the helmet. Elastic seamsare used in joining the previously described portions of the helmet 40together land the length and number of such seams is kept to a veryminimum consistent with the number required in forming a head-piece ofthe shape shown from at knitted material. When the helmet is adjustedfor wear it deiines 45 an opening of irregular outline for the upperpart of the face of the wearer and the different parts of the margin ofsuch opening are parallel to the rows of knitting of the material of thehelmet forming such margins. 50

The finished helmet when made as above described exhibits a verypeculiar and characteristic degree of elasticity which is greatest in adirection at right angles to the rows of knitting and minimum in adirection parallel to its free mar- 55 gins. The selective springinessof the knit-goods in certain directions as aforesaid, coupled with thesinuous marginal outline of the crown portion of the helmet, produces ahelmet which grips the head and neck tightly yet comfortably at allpoints and adapts itself to large variations in headsize.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular forms of knittedheadwear shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth arepresented for purposes of explanation and that various modifications ofsaid headwear and procedure can be made without departure from thisinvention as described in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A knitted helmet comprising a flat rackknitted piece having selvagesof irregular outline with the ends of the piece and the adjacent partsof one of the selvages secured together so as to form a crown portion ofovate shape, and a flat straight-knitted neck-piece having a portion ofone edge secured to the lower edge of the crown portion and definingtherewith an opening of irregular outline for the eyes and nose of thewearer of the helmet; darts being provided at the lower front part ofsaid neck-piece in order to t the neck-piece to the contour of that partof the face and neck which it covers.

2. A knitted helmet comprising a'crown portion having a substantiallystraight lower edge and exhibiting relatively high elasticity indirections at right angles to the margins thereof, a neck-piece having apart attached to said crown portion at the lower edge thereof, anddetachable means for securing the end of the unattached part of saidneck-piece to the end of the attached part thereof in position to coverthe neck and lower portion of the face of the wearer of the helmet; theupper edge of the unattached part of said neck-piece being of greaterlength than the lower edge thereof and conforming to the contour of theportion of the face and neck which it covers.

3. A knitted helmet comprising a crown portion having a substantiallystraight lower edge and exhibiting relatively high elasticity indirections at right angles to the margins thereof, and aneck-piecehaving a part attached to said crown portion at the lower edge thereof,detachable means for securing the end of the unattached part of saidneck-piece to the end of the attached part thereof in position to coverthe neck and lower portion of the face of the wearer of the helmet, anddarts in the lower portion ofthe unattached part of said neck-piece forshaping the same to comfortably conform to the contour of that portionof the face and neck which it covers.

4. A knitted helmet comprising a at rackknitted piece having selvages ofirregular outline with the ends of the piece and the adjacent parts ofone of the selvages seamed together so as to form a crown portion ofovate shape, a flat straight-knitted neck-piece with darts runningcrosswise of the piece and having a portion of one edge seamed to thelower edge ofhthe crown portion, and means for detachably securing theends of the neck-piece together, said neck-piece and crown portiondefining an opening of irregular outline for the eyes and nose of thewearer of the helmet; the margin of such opening being formed byselvages of the strips whereby enlargement of the opening is resistedand the marginal portion thereof may be drawn and maintained closelyagainst the face, said seams and darts being of flexible constructionand said helmet as a whole exhibiting a relatively high degree ofelasticity in all of its portions other than the marginal edges thereof.

LOUIS H. ENSTEN.

